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Théotime Langlois de Swarte

Théotime Langlois de Swarte

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VIDEO
Théotime Langlois de Swarte
Nicola Matteis Jr: Fantasia in A Minor | Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin
04:16

Nicola Matteis Jr: Fantasia in A Minor | Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin

Young Nicola Matteis: Fantasia in A minor for violin Album « THE MAD LOVER » ▶️ https://lnk.to/theotime-themadlover Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin Thomas Dunford, lute Ivresse de la mélancolie Un violon, un luth : deux artistes fréquemment réunis sur la scène musicale baroque ont décliné dans cette combinaison le secret d’un alliage précieux, puisé à la source de la melancholy anglaise du XVIIe. Ce « Mad Lover », cet amant inconsolé dont Théotime Langlois de Swarte et Thomas Dunford nous content l’histoire, c’est la figure autour de laquelle tous les violonistes gravitant autour de Charles II se sont retrouvés, dans le sillage du prodigieux Nicola Matteis. Les tournures envoûtantes de ce discours amoureux, renouvelé par l’exubérance et la liberté de ces musiciens venus d’Italie, résonnent jusque dans la musique populaire d’aujourd’hui. Exalted melancholy A violin and a lute: with this choice line-up, our pair of instrumentalists – and frequent partners on the current Baroque music scene – illuminates some aspects of an elusive amalgam that constitutes the 17th-century English notion of melancholy. The inconsolable ‘Mad Lover’ of the album title is reimagined by Théotime Langlois de Swarte and Thomas Dunford as a character from the reign of Charles II: a tale told through music from the pen of such violin virtuosos as the prodigiously gifted Nicola Matteis. Heightened by the exuberance and abandon common to those musicians transplanted from Italy, the beguiling nuances of this language of yearning and loss continue to echo in the popular music of our time. *** Subscribe to our newsletter: http://www.harmoniamundi.com/newsletter/ FOLLOW US - Twitter : https://lnk.to/HMtwitterID - Facebook: https://lnk.to/HMFacebookID - Instagram: https://lnk.to/HMinstaID - Spotify: https://lnk.to/HMspotifyID - Apple Music: https://lnk.to/HMapplemusicID - Deezer: https://lnk.to/HMdeezerID - harmonia mundi website: https://lnk.to/HMYoutubeID
PRESS ACCLAIM

“Excellent…Langlois de Swarte, his tone clear but with an appealing hint of wiry bite, played with vivacity and wit….A performance to be celebrated.” 

-The New York Times

“These are performances so special that I feel a changed man from listening to them. Buy it, tell all your friends: if you’re lucky, this recording will clamp on to you like a barnacle to a boat. It will infuse your life with joy. It might even make you believe again.”

-Gramophone

"An idiomatic performance, with a warmly singing violin line...mesmerizing."

-New Yorker

“Period violin playing of outstanding Calibre, characterized throughout by pinpoint accuracy, total purity, clean articulation, sensitive phrasing and a flowing sense of line.”

-The Strad

“France’s rising generation has some promising names.  Topping that list for me is Le Consort founding violinist Theotime Langlois de Swarte….a stunner by any standard."

-The Strad

REPERTOIRE

Duo Recitals with Justin Taylor, harpsichord

Available October 26-31, 2023 & Oct 15 - Nov 3, 2024

PROGRAM: “The flamboyant baroque – 18th century music for violin and harpsichord”

Music and sound are surely the most universal language, and are especially effective in helping us travel through time.  With a few strokes of the violin’s bow and animation of the harpsichord’s keys, let yourself be teleported from the London of Handel to the Rome of Corelli, with a visit to J-S Bach in Coethen.  Alongside monuments of the repertory, you will discover forgotten gems, rarities unearthed by the musicians from old libraries, and transcriptions of opera arias in the taste of the era.  A great journey awaits you!

G.F. Handel:  Sonata for violin and keyboard, Op. 1, No. 6

Jean-Marie Leclair:  Sonata livre III in D-Major, Op. 9, No. 3

Pancrace Royer:  “La Marche des Scythes”

Jean-Philippe Rameau:  “Tendres Plaintes” from Suite No. 1 (arr. by the performers)

Rameau/Guignon:  variations on “Les Sauvages” (arr. by the performers)

---Intermission---

Nicola Matteis:  Fantasia for solo violin

John Eccles:  “The Mad Lover”

Henry Purcell:  Prelude in G-minor

Eccles:  Sonata in G-minor

J.S. Bach:  Sonata in C-minor for violin and keyboard, BWV 1017

Bach:  Andante BWV 974 (after Marcello)

Archangelo Corelli:  Sonata for violin and keyboard Op. 5, No. 12 (“Follia”)

Current as of:  August, 2022 

BIOGRAPHY

“Performances so special that I feel a changed man from listening” [Gramophone]; “A stunner by any standard” [The Strad]; and “Mesmerizing” [The New Yorker] – these represent common reactions upon encountering violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte who is rapidly emerging as a much sought-after violin soloist (on both baroque and modern instruments), chamber musician, recitalist, and conductor.

Recognition has come in the form of major awards, including the 2022 “Diapason D’or of the year” for his recording of Vivaldi, Locatelli, and Leclair concertos (harmonia mundi), and the 2022 “Ambassador of the Year” award from the European Early Music Network (REMA), along with multiple additional recording awards and a February, 2022 cover story in The Strad magazine.

In solo appearances on both baroque and modern violin, de Swarte regularly offers concertos by all of the baroque masters, along with those of Haydn and Mozart.  He has appeared with Les Arts Florissants, Le Consort, Orchestre de l’Opera Royal, Holland Baroque, The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Les Ombres, and Orchestre National de Lorraine.  His engagements have brought him to prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Philharmonie de Paris, Vienna’s Musikverein, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Berlin’s Philharmonie, Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Hall, and the Shanghai National Art Center.

Théotime Langlois de Swarte studied at the Paris Conservatory under Michael Hentz, and became a regular member of Les Arts Florissants at William Christie’s invitation in 2014, while still a student.  He has since appeared as soloist with the ensemble, and will perform Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” with them on North American tours in spring and fall, 2025.  He has also appeared in recital with William Christie, including a 2021 recording of sonatas by Leclair and Senaille (“Generations” on harmonia mundi).  

As co-founder - with harpsichordist Justin Taylor - of the baroque ensemble Le Consort, de Swarte can be heard on numerous highly-acclaimed recordings including “Specchio Veneziano”, “Opus 1”, and “Philarmonica”, all on Alpha Classics.  Le Consort has performed widely throughout Europe, and their debut North American tours in 23/24 included Montreal, Boston, Washington, Kansas City, Berkeley, Chicago, St. Paul, Louisville, New Orleans, Vancouver, and Ottawa.

Besides William Christie, frequent recital collaborators include harpsichordist Justin Taylor and lute player Thomas Dunford, with whom he recorded a much-praised album titled “The Mad Lover”.  Another notable recording, “A Concert at the Time of Proust”, was made on the newly-restored Davidoff Stradivarius at the Philharmonie de Paris Museum.   His most recent recording – “Antonio Vivaldi Concerti per una vita” (harmonia mundi) – has garnerd wide acclaim, and early 2025 marks the release of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the work’s publication. 

Alongside his instrumental work, de Swarte is emerging as a conductor.  In 2023 he led performances at l’Opera Comique of Lully’s Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (with Les Musiciens du Louvre at Marc Minkowski’s invitation) and Gretry’s Zemire et Azor (at Louis Langrée’s invitation).  He returns to l’Opera Comique to lead Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride in November, 2025.

Théotime Langlois de Swarte is a laureate of the Banque Populaire Foundation.  He plays a violin of Carlo Bergonzi (1733) on generous loan from an anonymous patron.

June 2024.  Please discard any previous or undated versions.
 

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